Journal Screenshot

International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences

Open Access Journal

ISSN: 2222-6990

You’re Such A Burden, COVID-19! Psychological Impact among Postgraduate Students in Malaysia

Muhammad Wafi Ramli, Mohammad Izzamil Mohd Nasir, Sofia Haminah Mohd Som

http://dx.doi.org/10.6007/IJARBSS/v11-i4/9022

Open access

The COVID-19 pandemic has given significant impacts on students around the world. This pandemic had caused the closure of higher education institutions (HEIs), hence affecting the psychological well-being of the students. Currently, little is known about the psychological impact of the pandemic upon tertiary-level students. Therefore, this study aims to identify the psychological impact of the pandemic among postgraduate students in Malaysia, as well as to determine the relationship between psychological impact of the pandemic with postgraduate students’ socio-demographic. An online survey through Google Form is conducted and participated by a total of 606 postgraduate students from different backgrounds. The findings indicate that most postgraduate students experienced panic and nervousness when thinking about their studies and feeling dejected with their academic progress. This study also reveals that the postgraduate student’s socio-demographic (age, monthly income, source of income, study program, mode of study, and year of study) have significant relationship with psychological impact of the pandemic. This study is urgently vital for HEIs and relevant government agencies to assist them in formulating suitable policies and strategies in order to maintain a healthy psychological environment for postgraduate students amidst the pandemic.

Abelskamp, G. E., & Santamarinam J. C. (2020). Academia during the COVID-19 pandemic: A study within the geo-science and engineering field. Retrieved from http://alertgeomaterials.eu/data/posts/Abelskamp_and_Santamarina_2020_Academia_During_COVID19Pandemic.pdf
Al-Hassani, H. Q. M. H., Khakimova, N., & Alfadaa, F. I. (2020). The factors affecting online purchase intention among university students in Malaysia: A quantitative study during COVID-19. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(16), 3464-3477.
Ana, A., Minghat, A. D., Purnawarman, P., Saripudin, S., Muktiarni, M., Dwiyanti, V., & Mustakim, S. S. (2020). Students’ perceptions of the twists and turns of e-learning in the midst of the COVID-19 outbreak. Revista Romaneasca Pentru Educatie Multidimensionala, 12(1Sup2), 15-26.
Aristovnik, A., Kerži?, D., Ravšelj, D., Tomaževi?, N., & Umek, L. (2020). Impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on life of higher education students: A global perspective. Sustainability, 12(20), 1-34.
Armstrong-Mensah, E., Ramsey-White, K., Yankey, B., & Self-Brown, S. (2020). COVID-19 and distance learning: Effects on Georgia State University School of Public Health students. Frontiers in Public Health, 8, 1-10.
Arshad, S., & Rafique, R. (2016). Personality and creativity as predictors of psychological well-being in college students. Pakistan Journal of Psychological Research, 31(1), 139-160.
Barada, V., Doolan, K., Buri?, I., Krolo, K., & Tonkovi?, Ž. (2020). Student life during the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown: Europe-Wide Insights. Retrieved from http://www.ehea.info/Upload/BFUG_DE_UK_73_11_6_students_Covid_19_survey_results.pdf
BBC News. (2021, January 12). Malaysia declared Covid state of emergency amid political challenges. Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/55625448
Chung, E., Subramaniam, G., & Dass, L. C. (2020). Online learning readiness among university students in Malaysia amidst COVID-19. Asian Journal of University Education, 16(2), 46-58.
Dawood, S. R. S., Ramli, M. W., & Som, S. H. M. (2020). The resilience of senior citizens in the era of the pandemic: A preliminary study during the movement control order (MCO) in Penang, Malaysia. GEOGRAFI, 8(2), 110-128.
Dhawan, S. (2020). Online learning: A panacea in the time of COVID-19 crisis. Journal of Educational Technology Systems, 49(1), 5-22.
Flesia, L., Monaro, M., Mazza, C., Fietta, V., Colicino, E., Segatto, B., & Roma, P. (2020). Predicting perceived stress related to the Covid-19 outbreak through stable psychological traits and machine learning models. Journal of Clinical Medicine, 9(10), 1-17.
Fura, D. L., & Negash, S. D. (2020). A study on the living experiences of people during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The case of Wolisso town home-stayed university students. J Psychol Psychother, 10(5), 1-11.
Gómez-Galán, J., Martínez-López, J. Á., Lázaro-Pérez, C., & Sánchez-Serrano, J. L. S. (2020). Social networks consumption and addiction in college students during the COVID-19 pandemic: Educational approach to responsible use. Sustainability, 12(18), 1-17.
Gonzalez, T., de la Rubia, M. A., Hincz, K. P., Comas-Lopez, M., Subirats, L., Fort, S., & Sacha, G. M. (2020). Influence of COVID-19 confinement on students’ performance in higher education. PloS ONE, 15(10), 1-23.
Grubic, N., Badovinac, S., & Johri, A. M. (2020). Student mental health in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic: A call for further research and immediate solutions. International Journal of Social Psychiatry, 66(5), 517-518.
Hamid, M. N. S., Ali, R. M., & Ramli, M. W. (2021). Impak perintah kawalan pergerakan terhadap golongan miskin: Satu analisis cerpen “Kuncitara”. Malaysian Journal of Social Sciences and Humanities, 6(2), 1-8.
Iqbal, S., Gupta, S., & Venkatarao, E. (2015). Stress, anxiety & depression among medical undergraduate students & their socio-demographic correlates. Indian Journal of Medical Research, 141(3), 354-357.
Joshi, A. R., & Nagpal, M. (2018). Assessment of perceived stress in postgraduate medical students during training programme. Journal of Clinical & Diagnostic Research, 12(6), 1-4.
Kapasia, N., Paul, P., Roy, A., Saha, J., Zaveri, A., Mallick, R., Barman, B., Das, P., & Chouhan, P. (2020). Impact of lockdown on learning status of undergraduate and postgraduate students during COVID-19 pandemic in West Bengal, India. Children and Youth Services Review, 116, 1-5.
Kaur, G. (2020). Digital life: Boon or bane in teaching sector on COVID-19. CLIO an Annual Interdisciplinary Journal of History, 6(6), 416-427.
Khan, A. H., Sultana, M. S., Hossain, S., Hasan, M. T., Ahmed, H. U., & Sikder, M. T. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on mental health & wellbeing among home-quarantined Bangladeshi students: A cross-sectional pilot study. Journal of Affective Disorders, 277, 121-128.
Lan, H. T. Q., Long, N. T., & Hanh, N. V. (2020). Validation of depression, anxiety and stress scales (DASS-21): Immediate psychological responses of students in the e-learning environment. International Journal of Higher Education, 9(5), 125-133.
Landell, K. (1997). Management by menu. London: Wiley and Sons Inc.
Lee, K. (2020). Social support and self-esteem on the association between stressful life events and mental health outcomes among college students. Social Work in Health Care, 59(6), 387-407.
Mahdy, M. A. A. (2020). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the academic performance of veterinary medical students. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 7, 1-8.
Mahmood, S. (2020). Instructional strategies for online teaching in COVID-19 pandemic. Human Behavior and Emerging Technologies, 1-5.
Ministry of Health Malaysia. (2021). Kenyataan akhbar KPK 23 Mac 2021 – Situasi semasa jangkitan penyakit Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) di Malaysia. Retrieved from https://kpkesihatan.com/2021/03/22/kenyataan-akhbar-kpk-22-mac-2021-situasi-semasa-jangkitan-penyakit-coronavirus-2019-covid-19-di-malaysia/
Mokhatar, S. N. (2020). Ancaman Covid-19, aktiviti penyelidikan terhenti atau perlu diteruskan?. Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia News. Retrieved from https://news.uthm.edu.my/ms/2020/05/ancaman-covid-19-aktiviti-penyelidikan-terhenti-atau-perlu-diteruskan/
Mokhtari, T., Jamaluddin, R., & Saad, H. A. (2015). Lifestyle and psychological factors associated with body weight status among university students in Malaysia. Pakistan Journal of Nutrition, 14(1), 18-28.
Mostafa, L. (2020). Egyptian student sentiment analysis using Word2vec during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. In Hassanien A.E., Slowik A., Snášel V., El-Deeb H., Tolba F.M. (Ed.), International Conference on Advanced Intelligent Systems and Informatics (pp. 195-203). Springer, Cham.
Mpungose, C. B. (2020). Emergent transition from face-to-face to online learning in a South African University in the context of the coronavirus pandemic. Humanities and Social Sciences Communications, 7(1), 1-9.
Nasir, M. I. M., Ramli, M. W., & Som, S. H. M. (2021). Now look what you’ve done, COVID-19! The impact on academic survival among postgraduate students in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(20), 604-618.
Nga, H. T. (2020). Demand for part-time job of students today. International Journal of Contemporary Research and Review, 11(09), 21746-21749.
Nik-Ahmad-Zuky, N. L., Baharuddin, K. A., & Rahim, A. F. A. (2020). Online clinical teaching and learning for medical undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic: The Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) experience. Education in Medicine Journal, 12(2), 75-80.
Ramli, M. W., & Jamri, M. H. (2021). The impact of COVID-19 pandemic: A closer look at the night market traders’ experience in Penang, Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business & Social Sciences, 11(1), 741-760.
Salleh, F. I. M., Ghazali, J. M., Ismail, W. N. H. W., Alias, M., & Rahim, N. S. A. (2020). The impacts of COVID-19 through online learning usage for tertiary education in Malaysia. Journal of Critical Reviews, 7(8), 147-149.
Saravanan, C., Mahmoud, I., Elshami, W., & Taha, M. H. (2020). Knowledge, anxiety, fear, and psychological distress about COVID-19 among university students in the United Arab Emirates. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 11, 1-10.
Shahzad, A., Hassan, R., Aremu, A. Y., Hussain, A., & Lodhi, R. N. (2020). Effects of COVID-19 in e-learning on higher education institution students: The group comparison between male and female. Quality & Quantity, 1-22.
Sharma, P., & Devkota, G. (2019). Mental health screening questionnaire: A study on reliability and correlation with perceived stress score. Journal of Psychiatrists' Association of Nepal, 8(2), 4-8.
Siplan, J., & Holems, S. (2020). Malaysia confirms first cases of coronavirus infection. Reuters. Retrieved from https://www.reuters.com/article/china-health-malaysia/malaysia-confirms-first-cases-of-coronavirus-infection-idUSL4N29U03A
Sundarasen, S., Chinna, K., Kamaludin, K., Nurunnabi, M., Baloch, G. M., Khoshaim, H. B., Hossain, S. F. A., & Sukayt, A. (2020). Psychological impact of COVID-19 and lockdown among university students in Malaysia: Implications and policy recommendations. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17(17), 1-13.
Toquero, C. M. (2020). Challenges and opportunities for higher education amid the COVID-19 pandemic: The Philippine context. Pedagogical Research, 5(4), 1-5.
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). (2020). Education: From disruption to recovery. Retrieved from
https://en.unesco.org/covid19/educationresponse
United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, International Institute for Higher Education in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNESCO IESALC). (2020). COVID-19 and higher education: Today and tomorrow. Retrieved from http://www.iesalc.unesco.org/en/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/COVID-19-EN-090420-2.pdf
World Health Organization (WHO). (2020). Timeline of WHO’s response to COVID-19. Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news/item/29-06-2020-covidtimeline

In-Text Citation: (Ramli et al., 2021)
To Cite this Article: Ramli, M. W., Nasir, M. I. M., & Som, S. H. M. (2021). You’re Such A Burden, COVID-19! Psychological Impact among Postgraduate Students in Malaysia. International Journal of Academic Research in Business and Social Sciences, 11(4), 37-52.